Untold Tales
by GrimoireChance
Summary: Stories about the city of Etria, as told by the eccentric pen of the Highlander, Kazimir! Though it is unclear as to whether or not these stories are actually true...
1. A Highlander's Stories

He didn't want to use the parchment paper used for mapmaking. That would be a waste. He would instead settle on using a leather-bound book filled with blank pages, used for taking notes or for writing a diary. The young man, with the blank book in hand, sat down at the mansion's large wooden table, took out a quill pen and some ink, and began to write.

Twirling one of his braids of russet hue around his index finger, he stared at the empty sheet of paper, his brow furrowed in frustration. _Writing is hard,_ he thought.

"Master Kazimir?" inquired a violet-haired woman in a maid's dress, "Are you feeling alright? You're just sitting there rubbing your forehead."

"…?" Kazimir, his name was, looked up to face the concerned maid. Now, Kazimir isn't one who talks much. Stoic type, he is. He's been getting more sociable, though. "…Hey Rosa," he replied.

"I wanted to know if you were well. You've been sitting here looking frustrated for around fifteen minutes now." The maid Rosa was a constant worrier. She's the kind of person who always wants to know how the people dear to her are doing and would probably give them warm blankets and three cups of tea. It can get annoying at times, yes, but at least she cares.

Kazimir shifted his gaze from the maid back to the blank paper. Guess he finally overcame writer's block, since he started gliding the pen across the paper like an enraged Boulder Boar charging toward an unfortunate explorer. Rosa looked on, curiously.

"Writing," he finally answered, not taking his eyes off the paper.

"Oh, that sounds wonderful, Master Kazimir," said Rosa, "What are you writing about?"

"Stories."

"Stories? What kind of stories?"

"Stories about the guild. …And some of the townspeople." Kazimir began to write slower now. He had made a spelling error earlier. He wanted to correct it, but he was writing in ink. No choice but to keep moving forward.

"So it's a diary?" a smile began to form on Rosa's lips, "It's so sweet of you to write down all the adventures you've had with everyone. …Are the stories based on real events?"

"Of course," Kazimir replied, "Um… there's the story about how we brought in all these Gun Grimoires and Ricky taught us how to wield guns…"

"Ah, I remember that! Quite a hectic day, yes?" Rosa giggled.

"…And when the whole guild class changed into troubadours…"

"I hear you all returned from the labyrinth with fatal wounds! Thank goodness you were all okay…"

"…Or when that hexer girl, Tlatchga, cast a body swap hex on everyone in town…"

"I, uh… I'm pretty sure I would remember that, Master Kazimir!"

"…How about when someone cut off one of my braids and Detective Austin had to go look for the person who did it? …I will never forget that day…"

"Um…" A drop of sweat rolled down Rosa's face. Kazimir really does say some strange things when he actually starts running his mouth. "You have… quite a rich imagination, Master Kazimir!"


	2. Trigger Happy Havoc

The skies above were clear and blue and the birds perched on the green branches were happily singing. The Emerald Grove has a way of impressing novice adventurers. Who knew a labyrinth filled to the brim with bloodthirsty monsters could seem so serene?

A young girl in a blue dress took light steps as she navigated the dense woodland, her blond pigtails bouncing with each step she took. Her name is Frederica Irving, a girl in her mid-teens who apparently hails from an era long gone for one thousand years.

The sound of a gunshot resounded throughout the forest, and Frederica seemed to follow it, perhaps wanting to find the source of the noise.

Aim… and… fire! Wielding a gun took some time to get used to, but once you understood the basics, the rest should come naturally. Or so the Highlander thought. Hidden in the bushes, he kept count of how many tree rats he successfully slew. So far, he only managed to shoot five. Guns are surely more difficult to wield than a spear.

"Hey!" Frederica called, running toward the Highlander, "How's that gun grimoire, Kaz?"

The Highlander named Kazimir lowered the gun and looked over his shoulder at the girl.

"Oh um…I can call you that, right?" Frederica asked, lowering her gaze.

"…Sure. We do call you Ricky, after all," Kazimir reassured her.

Frederica felt her cheeks getting warmer. "Heh heh… Thanks Kaz." She chuckled a bit, and then ran off. "Oh and... good luck. With the gun," she called out once more before disappearing into the grove. Kazimir blinked a few times, wondering why his friend was so flustered.

* * *

Onward to the second floor of the Emerald Grove, Frederica thought she heard someone. She looked around and saw a familiar redhead. It was Raquna Sheldon, crouched behind her shield. She signaled for Frederica to come over.

Raquna pointed at the rather intimidating deer grazing in front of her from the safety of the shield. "Quite a beauty, eh?" she said, reloading the rifle in her hands.

"Beauty?" Frederica whispered angrily, "That thing gave us a hard time when we first started exploring this floor and you're saying it's beautiful!"

"Yah, I remember! Good times…"

"It made us all panic. I almost killed you."

"Apology accepted!"

"That's not the point!"

Unfortunately, Frederica's complaints fell on deaf ears. Raquna was already sending bullets flying. The enraged deer took notice of the attack and prepared to charge toward the two, but not before taking a crippling wound in one of its hind legs.

"Bulls-eye!" Raquna cried proudly. She pumped her fist into the air before reloading her rifle.

"And may I ask why we're out here in the open!? The shield will do nothing! The least you could've done is hide out in the bushes or- oh wow that was a pretty good shot."

The blonde's complaints were cut short by her amazement. Her Canadian redhead friend was surprisingly adept with that rifle. Raquna smirked as she took aim once again.

"Ah, deer hunting. It's a pretty common sport up in Ontario, 'cept we don't use these… rifle things. Well, this one guy did. Said he found it in some old ruin. Pretty crazy, eh?" Raquna rambled on as she fired rapidly at the deer, still struggling to get up.

"That's good, Raquna. Keep whittling away at its-" Frederica's instructions were cut short (goodness, the poor girl is always getting interrupted by something!) as the deer recovered and got up on its feet, brushing its hoof against the forest floor. "-HEALTH!" she screamed.

Raquna was in a panic, too. "What do I do now Ricky!?"

"AIM FOR ITS HEAD!" Frederica ordered as the angry deer charged toward them at full speed.

"The head!?"

"YES, THE HEAD!"

Raquna was sweating bullets at this point, appropriate as she aimed the rifle at the charging deer's head. It was a simple procedure. Take aim and then pull the trigger. It took a calm mind to get a good aim, and a calm mind was something that Raquna just didn't have at the moment.

The sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the Emerald Grove, causing flocks of birds to retreat from the tree branches they previously roosted upon. The grassy floor was now stained red and the still body of a deadly beast lay before Raquna and Frederica. "Sayonara, Ragelope!" Raquna cheered.

"Idiot! We could have died!" There were a few tears falling from Frederica's eyes.

"Yeah, but we didn't. And it's all thanks to iron defense of the Sheldon Shield™!"

Frederica puffed her cheeks as she wiped away her tears. She really was fearful of death, regardless of whether or not she let that fear show or not. Raquna sat down next to her and put her arm around the other's shoulder.

"There there, Ricky. We're alright," Raquna said in a very gentle and motherly tone. Frederica looked up at her and smiled a little.

"How 'bout I make it up to you, eh? I'll show you how to use a shield! Then you'll feel a whole lot safer!"

"Oh…" Frederica was touched by her friend's kind words. "Thank you so much, Raquna."

Once the two stood up from the ground, Frederica decided that it would be best to return to town after such an exhausting battle.

"Hang on," said Raquna as she approached the fallen Ragelope, "We've gotta collect the spoils, eh?"

"Oh for the love of-"

* * *

"Haha! Put your hands in the air where I can see them, Simon!"

Meanwhile in Etria, trouble was brewing within the Dvalinn Guild's base of operations! A fiery blond alchemist held a gun in his hand and was ready to shoot. A gray-haired man in glasses was cowering behind a wooden chair, still trying to comprehend why this kid thought it was a good idea to point a dangerous weapon at him.

"Gimme all your ental!"

"Arthur, that is not a toy!" cried the bespectacled medic," Put that thing down immediately!"

"Relax, Simon! I'm just playing around!" said Arthur as he careless twirled the gun around his index finger.

The door creaked open as Frederica entered the guildhouse, exhausted from her little excursion into the labyrinth. "I could go for a cup of Gingerlife right about now, Rosa…"

Before she could say anything else, Frederica realized that she had just walked into another one of Arthur's ridiculous antics. The whole room was still for a few moments.

"Arthur!" Frederica yelled, "Why are you twirling that gun around!?"

She reached for the boy's hands, attempting to pry the firearm loose. It wasn't easy, especially with Arthur struggling to get Frederica off of him.

"Let go of my hand!" Arthur complained.

"Not until you let go of that gun!"

In the middle of their struggle, Arthur accidentally pulled the trigger. No person was hurt, mind you, though the same couldn't exactly be said for the guildhouse. Bullet holes littered the walls and the room began to smell a little like gunpowder. At this point, the fight was getting intense. Frederica and Arthur were barking insults at each other, sometimes even tackling the other onto the ground!

"I've had about enough of you two!" Simon growled, pushing the chair aside.

He walked up to the two, smacked the gun out of Arthur's hand, and grabbed them by the locks of their hair. Frederica and Arthur were still flailing their arms about, even as Simon stood between them. Behind the shining lenses of his glasses, Simon's eyes were filled with anger. Oh, he was so very pissed, alright.

A demure purple-haired maid timidly observed from the kitchen, carrying a tray holding cups of Gingerlife tea, as Simon gave the blonde kids a harsh verbal beatdown. She took the time to see the damaged walls as well.

"Oh dear," she said, "The repair bill is going to be very expensive, I fear…"


End file.
